UPDATE: The White House has since rescinded these claims and has yet to further comment on the matter.
President Trump placed halted payments for federal grants and programs earlier this week. The move was criticized for bypassing congress to stop approved funds as unconstitutional. It faced its first challenge Tuesday when a federal court put a temporary freeze on the measure.
This isn’t the first legal battle the Trump Whitehouse has found itself in since taking office less than two weeks ago. Executive orders, such as an attempt to end birthright citizenship, were challenged in court as clear violations of the constitution.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) explained the move to pause federal funds as temporary and necessary in order to examine if the programs funded comply with Trump’s policies, but did not go on to explain the necessity of executing such a measure without congress.
Several state Attorney Generals announced legal action against OMB in response to the grant pause. Among them was New Jersey AG Matthew Platkin, who discussed the legal steps forward in an interview with NPR.
NJ Attorney General Battles Trump Funding Freeze in Court
The grant freeze created a flurry of confusion among federal agencies, workers and even lawmakers due to its vague language. The White House later clarified that direct benefit programs like Medicare, SSI, and SNAP were excluded.
AG Platkin suggests that the confusion is by design. “The president has a habit of issuing orders and revising them regularly and creating chaos,” said Platkin. “They [The White House] implicated potentially trillions of dollars of federal funding simply because it may somehow in their view touch on woke, DEI, you know buzzwords that they’ve put out through executive orders. And we have to remember what that funding does. It potentially funds senior’s healthcare, it funds children’s education, it funds police in states like New Jersey.”
He goes on to outline the potentially extreme scenarios the intended freeze would create, stating: “This order would defund the police in states across the country. It’s cut funding potentially for narcotics, drug trafficking, prosecutions and investigations. So the impact is extreme.”
The AG also suggests that OMB’s clarification wasn’t entirely true. Prior to OMB’s statement, NJ residents reported Medicaid portals as down, unable to access crucial technology for recipients.
Platkin and other state AG’s highlight in the forthcoming lawsuit that proper process was ignored when Trump froze funds and grants that affected millions of Americans. “The reason why we have governmental processes is not some arcane function. It’s precisely so you don’t have confusion amongst the public about critical services. So seniors aren’t left wondering, am I going to be able to stay in my assisted living facility and get my health care?” said Platkin. “The president is powerful, but he is not a king.”
States challenging President Trump has been the story of his term thus far. With an array of seemingly unconstitutional attempts to concentrate power in the executive in just the first week and a half of his presidency, many wonder if this will be the story of the next four years. Other critics of the president suggest that this “flood the zone” strategy is doing precisely what they want it to: distract.
Before signing off in his NPR interview, Platkin stated: “I say we have a constitution and a body of laws, and we are a country that is governed by the rule of law. And what we mean by that is that the president has to adhere to those laws and those constitutional norms. He does not get to decide that he doesn’t want to follow them simply because even like them he’s allowed to put forth his agenda but he has to stay true to the laws of this nation.”
Peter Candia is the Food + Drink Editor at New Jersey Digest. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Peter found a passion for writing midway through school and never looked back. He is a former line cook, server and bartender at top-rated restaurants in the tri-state area. In addition to food, Peter enjoys politics, music, sports and anything New Jersey.
